Karachi: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday directed the federal government to pay an amount of PKR 4.912 billion to the Sui Northern Gas Company (SSGC) so that it could supply gas to all the villages in a five-kilometre radius of gas fields in the region, a news source reported. Earlier, a petition had been submitted about the lack of welfare funds for the people residing near oil and gas fields, and the failure of the government department’s concerned in implementing the Supreme Court (SC)’s orders.
A division bench of the SHC led by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha heard the arguments of the federal government’s representatives, the SSGC, and the Oil & Gas Regulatory Authority (Ogra). Ogra stated that the cost of gasification of villages would be financed by the SSGC if the villages were located within a five-kilometre radius of the gas fields. Ogra further stated that the SSGC had already managed to provide gas to 114 villages.
A counsel for the SSGC told the high court that they would ensure the provision of gas to the villages concerned if the federal government released the required funds of PKR 4.192 billion. The federal government admitted that it had no funds to release as yet.
Earlier, the Council of Common Interests had decided that the gas distribution companies were supposed to finance the provision of gas to villages near the gas fields. However, the high court observed that SC had already obligated the ministry of petroleum to provide gas to the nearby villages and that CCI’s decision had not been approved by the parliament.
The
SHC directed the ministry of petroleum and the federal government to grant PKR
4.912 billion funds to the SSGC within seven days so that the gas-distributing
company could provide gas to the remaining villages within six months.
